Mushroom Magic

This past spring, I bought winecap mushroom spawn for the mulch in my garden. Fungi are an extremely important part of nature’s cycle, playing an integral role in the decomposition of organic matter and recycling it into a form living plants can use. Mushrooms therefore are a great addition to any garden, and even better if they are edible! A word of warning is that never, NEVER eat mushrooms you are not 200% confident in identifying, as that can have lethal effects.

If, like me, you use mulch for weed suppression, adding mushrooms to the garden is as simple as throwing spawn around. Mushrooms prefer damp, shady spots, so under trees and against fences is a great place to start (they spread slowly on their own too.)

So long as you keep laying over mulch (as I do every spring and fall), they will continue in perpetuity. After a rain is when you’re most likely to see them flush, and if you can’t finish them that day, dehydrating them is a great way to store them for use later. I cut them at the base of the stem rather than plucking them out of the ground. They have less dirt on them that way, making it easier to clean.